Expositive Comprehension passage - Jamb English Language Past Questions and Answers

Question 176:

• JAMB 2004

Read the passage below carefully and answer the questions that follow.  If once in a lifetime, you see a blue moon, don’t think your eyes are playing tricks on you. It is caused by dust in our upper atmosphere; ice crystals are what make you see rings around the moon. .
  Over the centuries, magical powers have been attributed to the moon. it has been said to bring on lunacy, affect the growth of plants, eyes of cats, spots of panthers, functions of women and activities of ghosts France once had a law against cutting timber except during a waning moon. The moon and to a lesser degree the sun, does cause the ocean tides because of their gravitational pull. But a common mistake of primitive people is to think that everything timed in the same rhythm as the moon is caused by it.
  All the moon gazing, probing and measuring has never solved the big problem it’s origin One theory is that it began as a planet, got too near the more massive earth, was captured ‘and turned into a satellite. Another is that the moon is the result of a giant tidal bulge forming on our earth’s surface, separating, then spinning off into space. If the latter theory is true, scientists say, there would be two clues; the moon would consist of lighter material than the earth, and the earth would be left with a scar. As a matter of fact, the moon does weigh less. And the Pacific Ocean does have a scarlike bottom of basaltic rocks instead of the granite rocks instead of the granite rocks usually found near the earth’s surface.
  But the assumption that, if man can get to the moon, he’ll find the answer is unfounded. Man has been on the earth hundreds of thousands of yours without determining the earth’s origin. Scientist, of course, will never give up either quest.
  Indeed, ‘for thousands of years the moon has worked a spell of fascination over all the people on its near neighbour, the earth. The ancient worshipped this lamp in the sky and speculated about it endlessly. Modern astronomers continue to explore its mysteries almost every night of the year, and with reason.
  Age’s ego, before artificial light was known, it was known, it was important as illumination at night. As everyone knows, the moon has no light of its own; it shines with the cold reflection of the distant sun, but actually the moon is a poor mirror, reflecting only a fourteenth of the sunlight received. The earth reflects a third of its sunlight providing its satellite with ‘earth light ‘sixty times as bright as the best moonlight. That’s why we sometimes see the whole moon faintly when the sun is lighting up only a narrow crescent.


The sentence over the centuries, magical powers have been attributed to the moonsuggests that

A. It is a common belief that the moon has magical powers
B. People perform magic with the moon
C. The moon actually possesses magical powers
D. The moon reflects magical powers from the sun's rays

Question 177:

• JAMB 2004

Read the passage below carefully and answer the questions that follow.  If once in a lifetime, you see a blue moon, don’t think your eyes are playing tricks on you. It is caused by dust in our upper atmosphere; ice crystals are what make you see rings around the moon. .
  Over the centuries, magical powers have been attributed to the moon. it has been said to bring on lunacy, affect the growth of plants, eyes of cats, spots of panthers, functions of women and activities of ghosts France once had a law against cutting timber except during a waning moon. The moon and to a lesser degree the sun, does cause the ocean tides because of their gravitational pull. But a common mistake of primitive people is to think that everything timed in the same rhythm as the moon is caused by it.
  All the moon gazing, probing and measuring has never solved the big problem it’s origin One theory is that it began as a planet, got too near the more massive earth, was captured ‘and turned into a satellite. Another is that the moon is the result of a giant tidal bulge forming on our earth’s surface, separating, then spinning off into space. If the latter theory is true, scientists say, there would be two clues; the moon would consist of lighter material than the earth, and the earth would be left with a scar. As a matter of fact, the moon does weigh less. And the Pacific Ocean does have a scarlike bottom of basaltic rocks instead of the granite rocks instead of the granite rocks usually found near the earth’s surface.
  But the assumption that, if man can get to the moon, he’ll find the answer is unfounded. Man has been on the earth hundreds of thousands of yours without determining the earth’s origin. Scientist, of course, will never give up either quest.
  Indeed, ‘for thousands of years the moon has worked a spell of fascination over all the people on its near neighbour, the earth. The ancient worshipped this lamp in the sky and speculated about it endlessly. Modern astronomers continue to explore its mysteries almost every night of the year, and with reason.
  Age’s ego, before artificial light was known, it was known, it was important as illumination at night. As everyone knows, the moon has no light of its own; it shines with the cold reflection of the distant sun, but actually the moon is a poor mirror, reflecting only a fourteenth of the sunlight received. The earth reflects a third of its sunlight providing its satellite with ‘earth light ‘sixty times as bright as the best moonlight. That’s why we sometimes see the whole moon faintly when the sun is lighting up only a narrow crescent.


The expression ''either quest'' refers to the origin of

A. Neither the moon nor the earth
B. The moon or the earth
C. The moon
D. The earth

Question 178:

• JAMB 2004

Read the passage below carefully and answer the questions that follow.  If once in a lifetime, you see a blue moon, don’t think your eyes are playing tricks on you. It is caused by dust in our upper atmosphere; ice crystals are what make you see rings around the moon. .
  Over the centuries, magical powers have been attributed to the moon. it has been said to bring on lunacy, affect the growth of plants, eyes of cats, spots of panthers, functions of women and activities of ghosts France once had a law against cutting timber except during a waning moon. The moon and to a lesser degree the sun, does cause the ocean tides because of their gravitational pull. But a common mistake of primitive people is to think that everything timed in the same rhythm as the moon is caused by it.
  All the moon gazing, probing and measuring has never solved the big problem it’s origin One theory is that it began as a planet, got too near the more massive earth, was captured ‘and turned into a satellite. Another is that the moon is the result of a giant tidal bulge forming on our earth’s surface, separating, then spinning off into space. If the latter theory is true, scientists say, there would be two clues; the moon would consist of lighter material than the earth, and the earth would be left with a scar. As a matter of fact, the moon does weigh less. And the Pacific Ocean does have a scarlike bottom of basaltic rocks instead of the granite rocks instead of the granite rocks usually found near the earth’s surface.
  But the assumption that, if man can get to the moon, he’ll find the answer is unfounded. Man has been on the earth hundreds of thousands of yours without determining the earth’s origin. Scientist, of course, will never give up either quest.
  Indeed, ‘for thousands of years the moon has worked a spell of fascination over all the people on its near neighbour, the earth. The ancient worshipped this lamp in the sky and speculated about it endlessly. Modern astronomers continue to explore its mysteries almost every night of the year, and with reason.
  Age’s ego, before artificial light was known, it was known, it was important as illumination at night. As everyone knows, the moon has no light of its own; it shines with the cold reflection of the distant sun, but actually the moon is a poor mirror, reflecting only a fourteenth of the sunlight received. The earth reflects a third of its sunlight providing its satellite with ‘earth light ‘sixty times as bright as the best moonlight. That’s why we sometimes see the whole moon faintly when the sun is lighting up only a narrow crescent.


A suitable title for the passage is

A. The Magical Powers of the Moon
B. The Lunar Cycle
C. Facts about the Moon
D. Moon - Gazing

Question 179:

• JAMB 2006

  The obvious function of a daily paper is to give news to the people, but this, at the moment, may be done in three ways, which are not all equally laudable. First, there is the paper which set out to give a brief resume of the news and backs this up by well-written articles on the current affairs by leading writers and experts. Secondly, there is the ‘daily’ which caters for popular taste, and contains only the most sensational and exciting bits of news, supporting them with comic-strips, pictures children’s corners, women’s sections and readers’ letters on anything but weighty topics. Thirdly, there is the propaganda type of paper, which presents only those versions of the news which agree with its own particular political outlook. All this gives news in different ways; but what deeper function can the ideal daily paper have?
In the case of the Nigerian daily newspaper, the first type gives the thinking reader an unbiased view of the world situation, so that he can judge the importance of recent events for himself, but it does not indicate to him what he ought to think. The drawbacks to this is that semi-literate or uneducated find it dull or difficult and so are discouraged from reading such a paper regularly, because it demands too much thought and effort from them. The main advantage of this type of paper, however, is its soundness, excellent English expression and general effect of widening the readers’ knowledge on a variety of subjects.
The second type interest the majority and give them more striking items of news in an easily comprehensible way, accompanied by lavish photographs and usually with some slight political bias towards the left and the interests of the working class, from which most of its readers come. The drawback of this type is that there is not enough solid thinking mater and the English is often faulty in style — tending towards ‘journalese’. The advantage is that it is quickly and easily read, on the bus or train or over the breakfast table, and gives a superficial knowledge of current affairs to people who would not have the time or inclination to read ‘heavier’ literature. Also, it is a ‘family’ paper, which every member of the household can enjoy, since there is something to please all their tastes.
The third type to some extent, appeals to emotion, not reason. It instruct the reader in exactly what that particular editor believe he ought to think, and does not give him a chance to have a mind of his own by letting him hear the other person’s point of view. The drawback is that it prevents people from thinking for themselves, and causes political hysteria rather than logical thinking. the only advantage is that it does represent the ‘freedom of the press’ to publish whatever it likes, and allows discontented people to air their grievances instead of letting them smoulder underground.
From these examples, it should be clear that the ideal function of a daily paper would be to present the news clearly and simply, and to support it with articles in good English which shows the points of view of various competent people of different outlooks on current problems. The reader could then choose which line of thought appealed to him most. Women’s and children’s sections would be good so long as they did not grow so out of proportion that the paper depended solely upon them for its popularity. Good pictures would add to the paper’s instructive value as well as to its interest; and advertisements, kept in bounds, might be helpful, both as shopping guides and as a financial help to the paper itself. All these points seem to be desirable in a daily paper now that the radio helps in giving news headlines.




The phrase political hysteria, as used in the passage means

A. Hatred and rivalries
B. Anxiety and misunderstanding
C. Crisis and confusion
D. Tension and ill feeling

Question 180:

• JAMB 2006

  The obvious function of a daily paper is to give news to the people, but this, at the moment, may be done in three ways, which are not all equally laudable. First, there is the paper which set out to give a brief resume of the news and backs this up by well-written articles on the current affairs by leading writers and experts. Secondly, there is the ‘daily’ which caters for popular taste, and contains only the most sensational and exciting bits of news, supporting them with comic-strips, pictures children’s corners, women’s sections and readers’ letters on anything but weighty topics. Thirdly, there is the propaganda type of paper, which presents only those versions of the news which agree with its own particular political outlook. All this gives news in different ways; but what deeper function can the ideal daily paper have?
In the case of the Nigerian daily newspaper, the first type gives the thinking reader an unbiased view of the world situation, so that he can judge the importance of recent events for himself, but it does not indicate to him what he ought to think. The drawbacks to this is that semi-literate or uneducated find it dull or difficult and so are discouraged from reading such a paper regularly, because it demands too much thought and effort from them. The main advantage of this type of paper, however, is its soundness, excellent English expression and general effect of widening the readers’ knowledge on a variety of subjects.
The second type interest the majority and give them more striking items of news in an easily comprehensible way, accompanied by lavish photographs and usually with some slight political bias towards the left and the interests of the working class, from which most of its readers come. The drawback of this type is that there is not enough solid thinking mater and the English is often faulty in style — tending towards ‘journalese’. The advantage is that it is quickly and easily read, on the bus or train or over the breakfast table, and gives a superficial knowledge of current affairs to people who would not have the time or inclination to read ‘heavier’ literature. Also, it is a ‘family’ paper, which every member of the household can enjoy, since there is something to please all their tastes.
The third type to some extent, appeals to emotion, not reason. It instruct the reader in exactly what that particular editor believe he ought to think, and does not give him a chance to have a mind of his own by letting him hear the other person’s point of view. The drawback is that it prevents people from thinking for themselves, and causes political hysteria rather than logical thinking. the only advantage is that it does represent the ‘freedom of the press’ to publish whatever it likes, and allows discontented people to air their grievances instead of letting them smoulder underground.
From these examples, it should be clear that the ideal function of a daily paper would be to present the news clearly and simply, and to support it with articles in good English which shows the points of view of various competent people of different outlooks on current problems. The reader could then choose which line of thought appealed to him most. Women’s and children’s sections would be good so long as they did not grow so out of proportion that the paper depended solely upon them for its popularity. Good pictures would add to the paper’s instructive value as well as to its interest; and advertisements, kept in bounds, might be helpful, both as shopping guides and as a financial help to the paper itself. All these points seem to be desirable in a daily paper now that the radio helps in giving news headlines.




according to the passage the desirable newspaper is that which

A. Does not create political hysteria
B. Is eclectic and modest
C. Is intellectual and unbiased
D. Is popular and sensational and has a slight political favour